In modern web development, user experience and design is critical to help your product stand out.
Building product that looks consistently good is challenging, though. At a large company, it requires close collaboration between design and engineering, dedicated design engineers, and most importantly, buy-in from the entire org.
As a solo developer, you still want your app to look the same across every page.
This is where design systems can help.
What is a Design System?
A design system is a set guidelines, principles, and reusable components that ensure consistency and efficiency in product design and development.
Basically, a design system provides a unified language for designers and developers to communicate effectively. This involves things like:
- Typography
- Colors
- Icons
- Components
- Spacing
- Layout Patterns
By having a "repository" of design elements, teams can create and maintain a consistent UX throughout their website or app.
Design systems are a proven way to become more efficient:
Design Systems have been proven to increase efficiency across the board:
- 15% accelerated feature speed-to-market
- 50% improvement in designer and developer efficiency
- 2x faster project delivery
When do I need a design system?
Short answer: now.
Both solo developers and massive enterprises benefit from design system.
For solo developers, components and colors are a great place to start and are a must for starting any new project. In fact, starting with the basics and building it out as you go is ideal.
The design system for this website is Radix Themes! But this blog was originally written in Chakra. Our own design system is an ever-evolving creature.
How do I get started?
Design systems can be hard, especially if you're starting from scratch. Luckily, there are a lot of great examples out there.
Here are some examples from large corporations:
But we know that design can still be challenging.
That's why we built Magic Patterns, our AI platform that makes it easy to design and generate UI. If you're interested in using Magic Patterns, we're happy to chat to see how we can help, or just pass our experience on. Schedule some time here!
It's better starting using a set of consistent styles sooner than later. You'll thank yourself...